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Understanding the In-Reactor Performance of Advanced Ceramic Cladding Materials

了解先进陶瓷熔覆材料的反应堆内性能

基本信息

批准号：
EP/M018814/1
负责人：
Timothy Abram
金额：
$ 31.17万
依托单位：
University of Manchester
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2015 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FM018814%2F1
关键词：
Understanding Reactor Performance Advanced Ceramic

项目摘要

Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF) are fuel designs typically intended for use in Light Water Reactors (LWRs), which comprise around 90% of the world's nuclear generating capacity. They offer significantly improved high temperature capability, due largely to the adoption of novel cladding materials, notably ceramic cladding. International fuel vendors are interested in commercialising ATF for both existing and new LWRs, but only after the gaps in technology readiness have been addressed. The aim of the research is therefore to establish the satisfactory performance of advanced ceramic cladding materials that are capable of surviving to temperatures typical of those encountered during severe accident conditions - typically around 1700 deg C. This is achieved by replacing the traditional zirconium-alloy fuel cladding with a composite ceramic cladding that is capable of surviving much higher temperatures. This would provide a very significant increase in safety compared with existing fuels, and hence provide a competitive advantage to UK fuel manufacturers. The work will focus on the performance of joined and bonded SiC-SiC composite cladding under conditions representative of those found in nuclear reactor cores.Silicon carbide has been shown to be stable under irradiation, and has very high temperature capabilities, but it has two major difficulties.1. The cladding must provide a gas-tight tube capable of accommodating the fuel pellets and retaining the gaseous fission products. This requires the sealing of the ends of the tube with a high-integrity joint. However, SiC cannot be welded, and previous attempts to produce mechanical and glued joints have failed. 2. Being a ceramic, SiC has very low fracture toughness, and it must be maintained in compression to provide sufficient mechanical strength. This can be achieved by winding the hollow SiC tube with SiC fibres that keep the tube in compression. However, a suitable means must be found of bonding the fibres to the underlying tube.Recent work at Manchester has identified two promising solutions to these difficulties: the use of laser-induced ceramic brazing to produce a gas-tight seal; and the use of Selective Area Laser Deposition (SALD) to produce a deposit of SiC that can act as a bond between SiC fibres and the underlying tube. These techniques have been demonstrated at laboratory scales, but the braze and bond materials have not been demonstrated under conditions representative of in-reactor service. The principal objectives of the work are therefore to demonstrate that the brazed joints and bonded fibres are capable of surviving under in-reactor conditions.

事故容忍燃料（ATF）是通常用于轻水反应堆（LWR）的燃料设计，轻水反应堆占世界核发电能力的90%左右。它们提供了显着改善的高温能力，这主要是由于采用了新型覆层材料，特别是陶瓷覆层。国际燃料供应商有兴趣将ATF商业化用于现有和新的轻水堆，但只有在技术准备就绪的差距得到解决之后。因此，该研究的目的是建立先进陶瓷覆层材料的令人满意的性能，这些材料能够在严重事故条件下遇到的典型温度下存活-通常在1700摄氏度左右。这是通过用能够承受更高温度的复合陶瓷包壳取代传统的锆合金燃料包壳来实现的。与现有燃料相比，这将大大提高安全性，从而为英国燃料制造商提供竞争优势。这项工作的重点是在核反应堆堆芯的典型条件下连接和粘结的SiC-SiC复合材料包壳的性能。碳化硅已被证明在辐照下是稳定的，并具有非常高的温度能力，但它有两个主要的困难。包壳必须提供能够容纳燃料芯块并保留气态裂变产物的气密管。这需要用高完整性接头密封管的端部。然而，SiC不能被焊接，并且先前尝试生产机械和胶合接头都失败了。2.作为一种陶瓷，SiC具有非常低的断裂韧性，并且它必须保持压缩以提供足够的机械强度。这可以通过用SiC纤维缠绕中空SiC管来实现，SiC纤维使管保持压缩。然而，必须找到一种合适的方法来将纤维粘合到下面的管上。曼彻斯特大学最近的工作已经确定了两种有前途的解决方案来解决这些困难：使用激光诱导陶瓷钎焊来产生气密密封;以及使用选择性区域激光沉积（SALD）来产生SiC存款，其可以作为SiC纤维和下面的管之间的粘合剂。这些技术已经在实验室规模上得到了证明，但钎焊和粘结材料尚未在反应堆内服务的代表性条件下得到证明。因此，这项工作的主要目标是证明钎焊接头和粘结纤维能够在反应器内条件下存活。